Yesterday Joaquim Rodriguez crashed out of the Giro d'Italia which was one of his big goals this season. Katusha manager Viacheslav Ekimov says that the next big target will be the Vuelta a Espana but that the Spaniard may also do the Tour de France.

General Manager of the Russian WorldTour Team Katusha Viacheslav Ekimov comments the situation inside the team after yesterday’s 6th stage of the Giro d’Italia:

"Thinking of the Giro d’Italia, we could of course never imagine such an unpleasant situation for our team. Just in few seconds, Team Katusha lost three riders, including our leader and Giro GC contender Joaquim Rodriguez. Vicioso, Rodriguez and Caruso were out of the race because of some serious injuries.

"Primarily we focus now on the health and quick recovery of our riders. In the first place I am talking about Angel Vicioso, who has a complex triple fracture of the hip. Today he was transported to Rome, where we found the leading expert on this kind of injury, and ready to operate Angel. So, we all are hoping that everything will go well. Besides, we will do all the necessary for a quick recovery of Giampaolo Caruso and Joaquim Rodriguez as well."

"The Vuelta a España was and is the next big goal for Joaquim Rodriguez. However, in the light of the recent situation, his participation in the Tour de France cannot be excluded. Anyway, everything will depend on the recovery process of “Purito” and his general race preparation progress.

"The Giro d’Italia is going on and Team Katusha continues its race. We still have 6 riders left, and they all are ready to fight for a strong result. Our riders are able to win stages and they proved it for many times: Daniel Moreno feels great and he is ready for the mountain stages; Luca Paolini is very motivated for success here in Italy; Maxim Belkov already won at the Giro d’Italia last year and he can repeat his success, as well as Eduard Vorganov, a rider getting the chance to show himself.

"Almost immediately after the incident, we received a warm support from Igor Makarov, the founder of the Team Katusha, who knows perfectly the vicissitudes of racing at the hard courses. His support means a lot for us. We are the team, used to fight and to overcome difficult situations. This recent situation has united our team even stronger and has improved our motivation for success. Together we will work even harder to show the real potential of Team Katusha."